


Valentine's Day Special

by FunnyFootsteps



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Date, Established Relationship, M/M, Valentine's Day Fluff, it is all sylvain's fault but he's too busy ho-ing somewhere else to be in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:08:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29419179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunnyFootsteps/pseuds/FunnyFootsteps
Summary: Dimitri and Dedue go on an awkward date on Valentine’s Day, and it is Sylvain’s fault somehow.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Valentine's Day Special

The restaurant was relatively new, and Dimitri did not expect it to be full during lunchtime on Sunday. He was wrong. So very wrong. 

He felt out of place the moment he opened the door. The restaurant was crowded with people and decorated in tacky pink hearts from floor to ceiling. Dimitri brushed snow off the shoulder of his jacket as he stepped in. He held the door open for Dedue, who in turn stayed behind to keep the door open for more people trying to escape the bitter cold of Fhridiad’s early spring. Dimitri approached the counter.

“Good day, we have a reservation under the name Gautier,” he told the busy looking waitress. 

The waitress didn't even attempt to hide her disappointment as she looked at Dimitri and Dedue.

“Soooo, he’s not coming?” She asked, customer service smile faltering.

“I’m afraid he remembered some… prior commitments.” 

Dimitri had initially suspected Sylvain’s double booking might have been nothing but a ploy to get him and Dedue to go out for once, but now he wasn't so sure. 

The restaurant was noisy. Dimitri had to lean a bit over the wooden counter with pink paper hearts glued onto it to hear the waitress. Dedue stood little behind him, trying to give him space as the queue built behind him. The evening would be even more crowded. 

The waitress looked at her computer screen and squinted a bit at what Dimitri assumed was Sylvain’s reservation. 

“Listen, I’m very sorry, sir, but could you consider giving the reservation up? There are a lot of couples coming in for Valentine’s Day,” she said, “the business lounge on the third floor of this building might be better for your needs. We could give you a gift card for your troubles.”

“We are on a date,” Dimitri corrected, blush creeping up to his face. 

“Oh,” the waitress said. Eyes wide, her gaze wandered from Dimitri to Dedue and back. 

“Something wrong with the reservation?” Dedue asked, leaning near Dimitri’s ear. 

“No, but once again, we have been mistaken for a business meeting.”

Dedue sighed heavily. 

Dimitri knew he and Dedue could come across a little stiff, but to be mistaken for a business meeting on Valentine's Day. That was new. How did this keep happening? Before this, the worst offender had been the time a waiter had actually snatched away the candle from their table and gave it to some other couple. 

The waitress collected her composure with remarkable grace, and eager to make up for her blunder showed them their table.

Dimitri glanced at his reflection on the window. He straightened his crooked tie. Suit and tie for lunch had definitely been a mistake. Maybe he did look like a businessman. Businessman with an eyepatch. 

Dedue did not wear suits often either as his work did not require one. His jacket for tonight was off the clearance rack from a big and tall store, and it fit a bit snug on his frame. He frowned a bit as he hung the ill-fitting jacket on the back of his chair. He was the most handsome man Dimitri had ever seen. 

He caught Dimitri staring and raised his eyebrow in silent questioned.

“You look great,” Dimitri told him, “you always do.”

“I sense a hint of a bias here,” Dedue replied.

Dimitri snorted at Dedue’s attempt to shrug off the compliment. He sat on his chair across Dedue. The chair, at least, was just a regular chair and had not suffered Valentine’s Day makeover.

Dedue went through the menu carefully. He bit his lip as he tried to decide for the both of them. Dimitri didn't even bother opening the menu, so he just observed the serious expression on his boyfriend’s face and the way the restaurant’s halogen lights bounced off his earrings. Dimitri was pragmatic, not romantic, but the sight still made his heart flutter. 

After careful consideration, Dedue placed an order. It took him a while to get the waitress’s attention. The clacking of her heels against the floor irritated Dimitri. Try as he might, he couldn’t relax.

The restaurant was loud and bright and very trendy. It was the kind of place where Sylvain no doubt had intended to bring someone unimportant. Dimitri should have declined his offer about the reservation. Technically he had declined. About three times. 

Sylvain had, repeatedly, told him that going to the library together or watching documentaries at home didn’t count as dates. And how those especially did not count for Valentine’s Day dates, but what did he know anyway? From the corner of his eye, Dimitri could see their waitress trying to check her phone discreetly. He would tell Sylvain that later. 

“What are you thinking about?” Dedue asked, his soft words almost drowning in the buzz of the restaurant. 

“Sylvain,” Dimitri admitted.

Dedue nodded and looked around, frowning at the tacky decor. For a place with such high prices, one would think they could have hired a better interior decorator. An abundance of paper hearts paired with candles on every table must be a fire hazard. The roses on their table were as fake as the atmosphere of romance Valentine’s Day tried to sell people everywhere.

“I don’t believe he meant to give up the reservation for us when he made it.”

Dimitri nodded. “Perhaps you didn’t hear, but our waitress was expecting to see him today.”

“That explains it,” Dedue sighed. 

The waitress in question brought them a jug of water and two coffees. Dimitri gave her an awkward smile that probably did give away that they were just talking about her. She, in return, gave him a dazzling customer service smile. Perhaps he should practice smiling more too.

The coffee smelled delicious, but the noise of the restaurant was overbearing. Dimitri resisted the urge to cover his ears. Playing music in a place this full was unnecessary. He didn’t recognize any of the songs, but they probably were popular.

Neither he and Dedue wanted to add to the noise, so they sipped their coffees quietly. It was virtually impossible for anyone to have a meaningful conversation is this racket, which was most likely by design. Everyone else in the room seemed comfortable. 

The couple on the table next to this was obviously going through the first date’s loaded motions. Flushed cheeks and shaky voices. Getting to know each other through basic questions. 

Dimitri’s first date with Dedue had been a long overdue cultivation of their friendship. It had been a history documentary marathon in Dedue’s apartment he had shared with his friend Ashe. Save for kissing between the episodes, it had been much like their hangouts always were. 

Dimitri had learned about ancient ways of preserving meat and how Dedue made cute sounds if you kissed his neck. It had been a very educational but not necessarily romantic evening.

Ashe had actually been home the whole time. He had, however, realized what was going on during the third episode, and made a quiet retreat back to his room. Dimitri and Dedue were grateful for his tact. 

Ever since he had turned fourteen, Dimitri had had the same conversation with Sylvain approximately once a month about how he needed to relax. Yet he had never learned how. It was most likely too late to learn now. He would have been confident in being fundamentally boring if it had not meant dooming someone else in the life of dullness along with himself. Dedue deserved so much more. 

While neither of them were particularly outgoing people, it hadn’t escaped Dimitri’s notice that it was his own comfort zone they were always staying in. 

Dedue had always stayed by his side when he was at his worst, but if he was like this at his best, was it really worth it. Dimitri rested his elbow on the table with his chin in his hand.

“I should have just bought you roses,” he blurted out. 

“I do not need more flowers,” Dedue replied, stirring his coffee.

It was true. Their apartment resembled more and more of a jungle every day as Dedue’s collection of house plants grew. He had left approximately half of his plants with Ashe, but just in few months doubled his original collection. He said it was because the sun hit Dimitri’s apartment in a way that made most plants thrive, but Dimitri was sure he just couldn’t handle the bareness of Dimitri’s apartment. Dimitri had owned a plant or two when he lived alone, but they never survived for long. 

The food arrived. Dimitri picked at his plate, twisted his pink napkin into a knot, and kept pulling on the strings of his eyepatch. Dedue, of course, noticed his fidgeting and looked at him with the familiar look of concern in his eyes. Dimitri tried to sit still. 

“This isn't about need,” Dimitri continued, unsure how to get his point across. 

“I didn't get you anything either,” Dedue noted.

“Because I told you not to?”

“Because you told me not to,” Dedue admitted. 

Dimitri disliked gifts. He disliked owning too many items in general. Clutter had a habit of building up into large piles until there was nothing left to do other than get rid of everything. There was nothing worse than well-meaning friends bringing useless novelty items as gifts or souvenirs because he felt obliged to keep them.

He had never had any money problems, quite the opposite actually, but before Dedue moved into his apartment, he didn't even own a bed frame. They had had several discussions about whether not owning furniture counted as minimalism or not.

Dedue, however, enjoyed things that were not only for use. He liked things like arts and crafts and gardens and food that had been arranged on the plate a certain way for no other reason than that it looked nice like that. 

He also owned far more teacups than anyone would ever need, even after Dimitri had broken the ear off from several. (Dedue had said the broken cups were not a big deal, and he shouldn't worry about it. It was a big deal, and Dimitri did worry about it).

It was far too crowded here. Dimitri could smell the perfume of the woman behind him. All around them were people more comfortable in such an environment. People who didn't get mistaken for business partners during valentine’s day. People to whom smiles came easier. 

“If it isn't about need,” Dedue continued the conversation as if it had never paused, “what was your point then?”

“The point is that I love you,” Dimitri said. 

He had said it before. Several times before and yet never enough. He always preferred to be direct, even if he never got the timing and tone right. Now he had stated it as if he had commented on the weather and not tried to articulate the most important thing in his heart. Perhaps that was not a bad thing. After all, it was a fact as real as the soft fall of snow outside. 

It was always easier to say things like that when Dedue wasn't staring at him, but Dimitri tried to keep eye contact now. There was a subtle change in Dedue’s expression. Softened brow, a small smile. The way tension eased from his broad shoulders. Signs Dimitri always looked for. 

“There was never any doubt about that,” Dedue glanced away and tugged on his earring. 

Dimitri smiled in his coffee. Perhaps today was not such a waste of time. Perhaps he was enough in all his awkwardness. 

Dimitri set down his empty coffee cup and reached over the table for Dedue’s hand. Dedue took his hand and squeezed it. His hand was warm and would smell like lavender hand cream. If only Dimitri were closer. 

“I have no complaints about the quality of the food here,” Dedue said, “but I think it would be for the best to have dessert at home.”

Lunch salads did not typically need desserts, but it sounded like the most wonderful idea to Dimitri. 

They left the restaurant hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be more fluffy, but Dimitri did not cooperate.


End file.
